1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to financial certificates, such as monetary-equivalent certificates and/or travelers checks, and various systems for making such financial certificates more valuable to the holders thereof.
2. Description of Prior Art
Monetary certificates, travelers checks, etc. constitute familiar financial instruments. A person desiring to purchase monetary certificates of a given type (such as the currency of a foreign country), and/or travelers checks, simply goes to the local bank and purchases the desired monetary certificates and/or travelers checks.
The business of issuing monetary certificates and/or travelers checks is a highly profitable one for the issuing entity. This is so for the main reason that, on the average, the issued monetary certificates and/or travelers checks remain un-redeemed for a substantial period of time; during which time the issuing agency derives interest income from the monetary (or other) values having been tendered for the issued but not-yet-redeemed certificates and/or checks.
For instance, with respect to travelers checks, American Express Company of New York, N.Y.--which is the largest issuer of travelers checks in the U.S.A.--reportedly carries a float of several billion dollars resulting from issued but as-yet-unredeemed travelers checks. At an interest rate of 10% p.a., a profit of several hundred million dollars per year is indicated.